“Terrifying” gun crime has continued to plague Sheffield’s streets after the latest shooting of a 16-year-old boy yesterday evening.

Police were called to reports of gunshots on London Road last night at 5:17pm, leaving the victim “in a critical condition with life-threatening injuries.”

It comes after a series of gun-related incidents in the city this year, including a shooting in Blayton Road, Pittsmoor, the killing of 32-year-old Kasim Mohammed in Watery Street, Upperthorpe in September, and a shooting at a property in Wensley Court in October.

David Blackburn, 57, who lives on nearby Highfield Place, reacted to the shooting. 

He said: “I feel for the boy. It’s a terrible thing to happen.

“You never used to hear about people being shot, but now it’s every week, and it’s terrible.

“I’ve lived in Sheffield all my life, so I won’t be leaving any time soon, but it’s worrying.”

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested by police and charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

Shazia Ajaib has lived near Sharrow in Sheffield for nine years. 

She said: “We heard it last night. It sounded like fireworks, and then, there was the police helicopter.

“It’s scary because my family is here. This is where we live.

“Things are getting really bad. We’ve got kids being shot on our streets, so what’s being done?”

Sitwell Place and Crowther Place remain cordoned off whilst police investigations continue, with local cafes, pubs, shops, and Highfield Library closed to visitors.

49-year-old Julia, who did not want to share her surname, said she now feels nervous walking around her neighbourhood, even with an increased police presence.

She said: “This is where my kids went to school, and it’s a nice place to live.

“We come to the shops, we go down the pub, but this makes you second-guess that. It’s not nice to hear people are being shot.”

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics suggest gun-related violence, where firearms are fired, used as blunt instruments, or used to threaten a person, is decreasing – dropping to its lowest level in a decade.

In a dataset of firearm-related incidents in the year March 2024 to March 2025, South Yorkshire Police recorded 164 firearm offences – a 47 per cent decrease from 309 in the previous year.

However, there were 12 offences per 100,000 people in South Yorkshire, higher than the national average of eight per 100,000 in England and Wales.

Sharrowhead resident, Matei Belan, 31, said: “I am scared. I do not like to think this is happening where I live.

“It’s very, very scary. We need to feel safe, and that means no guns anywhere. Guns kill people. They hurt people.”